News
UCL Preview: Monaco host Benfica
A new-look Monaco
Monaco have had a rather uneven season since that point, slipping in the league and also enduring losses in the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions. An injury to Wilfried Singo, arguably the team's best defender hasn't helped, but so too has a lack of goals, with Mika Biereth having joined in January to remedy that. The Dane has hit the ground running, having even hit a hat trick against Auxerre, but Monaco's playing a more open 4-4-2 with both he and Breel Embolo starting will mean a more challenging evening for the defense.
Manager Adi Hütter spoke about not only the perils of this formation, but also of a gap in experience between the two sides, saying, "Benfica have more experience, whereas we are a young team. Many of our players are yet to experience a Champions League knockout match. [Nicolás] Otamendi is an example of the [experience in] this Benfica team, a player who gives confidence to his younger team-mates. But we are happy with our players and our way of playing. We are excited to face Benfica at this stage of the competition."
It's @ChampionsLeague time! 😎💪 pic.twitter.com/xITpoh4h4C
— AS Monaco EN 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco_EN) February 10, 2025
Benfica look to double down
As for Benfica, the visitors are likely to play the same 4-3-3 that they played in that win in late November, save injured right back Alexander Bah. While the team still trail Sporting Club de Portugal domestically, their last two matches in this competition were a win over Juventus and a thrilling (if ultimately frustrating) 5-4 loss to Barcelona, underscoring that they are a side brimming with confidence and with a dangerous mix of veteran nous from the likes of Ángel Di María, a player well known to fans of Ligue 1 and emerging talent in the form of striker Vangelis Pavlidis (five goals in eight Champions League matches).
Speaking pre-match, manager Bruno Lage evinced no small amount of bravura, and reflected not only on the importance of the team's win in November but also on their recent league cup win, saying, "That victory [on Matchday 5] gave us confidence moving forward. We are in a good situation, with a [Portuguese League Cup] title and reaching this stage of the Champions League."
Predicted lineups:
AS Monaco (4-4-2): Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Diatta (or Henrique); Akliouche, Zakaria, Camara (or Al-Musrati), Ben Seghir (or Golovin); Embolo, Biereth
SL Benfica (4-3-3): Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di María, Pavlidis, Schjeldrup)
Read more:
